Green resolutions

With the new year fast approaching and many of us eager to leave 2020 behind us, are you going to make a list of things of good intentions and plans for 2021? Are you someone who sticks to those plans and New Year’s resolutions? Or are you fine to start afresh whenever you want during the year, not needing a certain day to get you where you want to be? 

My personal aim, which I want to continue from this strange year, is to do better by the environment. I made a few small changes this year, such as investing in some reusable buds to clean ears and wipe away makeup, some reusable cotton pads for makeup removal, some beeswax sandwich wraps as well as, probably my proudest investment, the CupIT Menstrual Kit from Secret Whispers.

It was certainly not out of malice, but more out of ignorance that it had taken me so long to make the switch to a reusable sanitary product. I had known about the likes of the Moon Cup for ages but hadn't investigated or educated myself enough to make the change. With so many things, the wake up call of 2020 prompted me to make the switch. Not only am I doing something good for my body, I am also contributing to a greener planet. 

According to the London Assembly’s Environment Committee, the UK alone generates 200,000 tonnes of menstrual waste, which includes disposable sanitary pads and tampons. Moreover, approximately 4.3 billion menstrual products are being used each year in this country - imagine the waste going into landfill and the rivers, seas and oceans.  World wide, this figure goes up to thousands of tons every month. Given the fact that a conventional sanitary pad is made up of 90% plastic, these numbers are shocking.  What is even worse, is that they can take up to 1000 years to decompose.  Not to speak of those that end up in rivers and seas across the world. Those products will outlive us by many years. Apart from being quite yucky, how awful to leave such a mess behind. 

Secret Whispers CupIT Menstrual Kit ticks all the boxes regarding a sustainable future. The menstrual cups are going to last 10 years, meaning no more throwing away hundreds of disposable sanitary waste each year.  You get two different sized CupITs - a small and a medium per pack, to suit your body or heaviness of flow during your period.  They are super soft and don’t release any nasties into your body like disposable menstrual products.  What is more, all the packaging, (and there isn’t a lot of it) is recyclable and made from responsibly sourced materials, down to the ink of the cardboard box.  You can even throw the hygiene bags the cups come in into your compost bin - they will degrade and leave no mess.  What a product!

My journey for 2021 with the environment will step up. I want to do more, bit by bit. Recycling alone won't be enough. We need to educate the next generation, and help them make better choices and lead by example.

So what are you going to do? Come and join me on this green journey, and let's make it one that lasts and impacts positively for generations to come. 

Secret Whispers also donates a CupIT to a local Leicester charity to help with period poverty. Just think - one of their period cups will last a woman or girl in period poverty to be period free worry for 10 years! Fantastic!

Secret Whispers' CupIT Menstrual Kit comes with two sizes per pack and is available online for £39.99. Bargain considering how much sanitary products we use.

Sources:

plastics_unflushables_-_submited_evidence.pdf (london.gov.uk)

Carola is a writer, content and copywriter and published author.  You can find her on Instagram @chameleoninhighheels, Facebook @chameleoninhighheels and on www.chameleoninhighheels.com.